An architectural detail can transform a standard doorway into a grand archway and a fireplace mantle into a room's centerpiece. Finishing touches such as moldings and cornices are widely used in the homebuilding industry as a way to increase the aesthetic and economic value of a home. To obtain market share and to establish a reputation, builders are seeking out variations on classic architectural detailings.
In the recent past, architectural detailings were typically formed from stone/concrete or wood. With a number of advancements made within the foam industry, many builders are now utilizing pre-coated foam architectural detailings. One reason for their popularity is that they have a similar look and feel to precast, natural stone products, or wood, at the same time providing a significant reduction in raw material and installation costs. The foam based architectural detailings are also being used to accommodate climates adverse to wood and to offset rising wood costs.
In a typical construction, a mesh is applied to a foam core, then it is coated and topped with a stone like or other finish to create a product that is strong and aesthetically pleasing. The resulting product may be one-tenth the weight of precast stone. Further, the resultant product is easier and costs less money to install. It can be made in any shape and size. The manufacturing time is considerably less as well, and the cost is around 40 percent less for the installation of a foam product versus a precast product.
The foam base is easily formed into any shape, allowing designers wide latitude in designing the shape of the architectural detailings. The design aspects for coated foam products are infinite and have become extremely popular with architects and interior designers alike. The foam is dimensionally stable, resistant to expansion, contraction, warping, rotting and twisting. Additionally the foam is not a nutrient source for insects, which is important in humid and termite-prone climates.
Although previously developed faux architectural detailings are effective, they are not without their problems. It has been discovered that previously developed faux architectural detailings are not well adapted for properly drying the applied outer coating. More specifically, the foam core is coated with a selected liquid coating material or materials. Either before or after application of the liquid coating material, the architectural detail is placed upon a support structure, such as a drying rack to support the architectural detail during a drying process. However, as the liquid coating material cures into a solid, the coating material often adheres to the portions of the support structure contacting the coating material. When the architectural detail is lifted from the support structure, imperfections may be present in the outer coating of the architectural detail at the points where the architectural detail interfaces with the support structure. The imperfections reduce the quality, value, and appearance of the architectural detail and are therefore less desirable. Thus, there exists a need for an architectural detail having enhanced drying characteristics which aids in reducing the imperfections caused by coating and support structure interactions during the drying process, and that is reliable and inexpensive to manufacture.